


The Whereabouts of Diaval

by OfTheMoors



Category: Maleficent (Disney Movies)
Genre: Alcohol, Caring, Drunkenness, Explanations, Missing Scene, One Shot, Silly
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-29
Updated: 2020-01-29
Packaged: 2021-02-27 12:09:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,042
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22456993
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/OfTheMoors/pseuds/OfTheMoors
Summary: It's a question that so many of us have asked since Mistress of Evil was released - WHY wasn't Diaval in the final scene, flying with his mistress and the Fey children?Well, this is my take on where Diaval was during that scene.  Not Maleval, but also not 'not Maleval' either.  You know I ship the heck out of those two, so there some hinting.
Relationships: Aurora & Diaval (Disney), Aurora & Maleficent (Disney), Diaval & Maleficent (Disney), Diaval/Maleficent (Disney)
Comments: 5
Kudos: 120





	The Whereabouts of Diaval

Diaval was rather more... flexible... than Maleficent had realized.

He was certainly fit in all of his forms, but it had never occurred to her that he could be capable of moving in such a way that would suggest a complete lack of bones in his body. There was a fluidity in his movements, an abandon with which he spun and turned, which suggested that he was made of naught but skin and air. She found her thoughts hovering somewhere between disturbed and impressed.

Maleficent turned as Aurora quietly sidled up to her, ignoring the throng of cheerful well-wishers vying for her attention. Her hair was a tad askew and her dress was rumpled, no doubt from the hours of dancing she had done with Philip and just about every wedding guest aside, but the happiness in her eyes told her godmother that she was entirely unbothered by it. 

Maleficent wondered if the poor girl's face hurt from smiling.

"Godmother..." Aurora murmured with a hint of a frown on her face, "Exactly how much wine has Diaval had tonight?" She indicated her godfather with a slight incline of her head. He was dancing in a frenzied fashion now, arms flailing as though he was having some sort of seizure. The other wedding guests were giving him a wide berth and staring in amusement.

"Oh dear." Maleficent commented. "I can't tell you how much wine Diaval has imbibed tonight, Beastie, other than to tell you that it has clearly been _too much_. I had better go and deal with him before he accidentally hurts somebody and starts another interspecies incident."

"There are rooms prepared upstairs for guests, if you think that would be best?"

"I do. No doubt if I tried to get him back to the Moors in his present condition, he would fly straight into a tree."

Maleficent began to make her way through the crowd of dancing revelers to where her corvid companion thrashed - she could hardly call what he was doing _dancing_ at this point - and laughed loudly at everything in sight. The dancers parted in her wake, and as she approached, Diaval spotted her. He stopped moving and grinned drunkenly at her.

“MISHTRESSH!” he beamed, “Dansh wif me! I like danshin’!”

He pulled her towards him and spun her around, tripping over his own feet. Maleficent grabbed him around his waist to keep him upright, and he leaned into her, laughing stupidly.

“Exactly _how_ much wine have you had tonight, Diaval?” Maleficent asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Ummm… a bit? Lotsh. I like it. It’sh shweet, tashtes like berriesh. ‘S a bit shtrong, I fink…” He swayed in her arms.

“It’s time to leave the party. You’re making a fool of yourself.”

He was staring vaguely up at her. “You’re sho pretty.” he slurred.

“That’s nice, Diaval. I hope for your sake that you have no memory of this evening in the morning.” Maleficent coaxed him into motion, steering him toward the staircase. He stumbled along beside her, giggling inanely at waistcoats and hairstyles and the state of Borra’s wings as he went.

It was slow going. Maleficent guided Diaval to one of the closer guest rooms, all too aware that her companion was intoxicated beyond even her initial assertions. She had to let go of him in order to open the heavy doors, and he slumped down onto the floor beside her, singing a ditty of questionable moral decency that he had learned from some of the Perceforest guards some years before. Maleficent rolled her eyes and bit back a snort of laughter. He was a ridiculous creature.

She hauled him into the room, dragging him by the armpits as he cackled in mirth, and dumped him unceremoniously beside the large four-poster bed. He lay on the floor and groaned, eyes unfocused.

“The world’sh all shwirly, Mishtressh. Why’re you makin’ it shwirly like that?”

“I’m doing nothing at all Diaval. You’ve done this to yourself, you silly bird. You’ll be sorry in the morning.” Maleficent crouched and grabbed Diaval under his armpits again, grunting in effort as she lugged him up and onto the bed. He whimpered.

She removed his boots, tossing them onto the floor, before starting on the buttons of his coat. He grabbed her wrist, stilling her movements.

“You're really pretty, Mishtressh. Beaut'ful. And now you’re undresshin’ me. I wish I could kissh you…” Diaval whispered incoherently.

“You’re as drunk as a lord, Diaval. I’m not going to let you kiss me when you’re in such a state.”

“Wha’ about tomorrow then?”

“If you have any recollection of this conversation at all tomorrow, then we can discuss it then.” Maleficent replied dryly.

“Mmkay…” Diaval’s eyes were already starting to droop. Maleficent removed his coat, leaving his undershirt on, and made a conscious decision to not even attempt to deal with his pants. Knowing Diaval and his opinions on clothing in general, she suspected that he probably wasn’t wearing any undergarments anyway.

She scanned the room and located a chamber pot, which she placed beside Diaval’s head.

“Whassat?” he muttered.

“You’ll thank me later. Just remember that it’s there.”

Diaval’s eyes fluttered closed and he relaxed as sleep quickly took hold of him. Maleficent walked around the bed and sat down on the other side of it, watching him carefully. His chest rose and fell rhythmically as he fell into a deeper sleep, and she allowed herself a moment of affection for him, so usually hidden behind her icy façade. She wondered if he would indeed like to kiss her. She wondered if perhaps she would like him to kiss her too. It was an intriguing thought, and one that she didn’t often allow herself to entertain, but the event of the preceding days had brought her to the realization that she had truly missed his presence, and that her heart had leapt to see him again. It was enthralling and terrifying all at the same time.

Maleficent settled back into the pillows, intending to stay awake for a few hours in order to ensure that Diaval was all right. She reached over and gently stroked the scar beside his left eye.

“You foolish bird,” she whispered tenderly, “You’re going to be useless in the morning.”

**Author's Note:**

> "And so, my dear ones," the wizened sage concluded, "Although Diaval loved his mistress with all of his heart, and she loved him every bit as much, the next morning she set off flying without him, as he was nursing a brutal hangover with his head bent over a floral chamber pot because he had overindulged on fruity wine the night before."


End file.
